Les dernières recettes
I’ve just published my recipe for brioche des Rois, which is topped with candied fruit and a little orange blossom water. I thought a puff pastry galette des Rois with the same ingredients would be a treat, and it is! I wasn’t the biggest fan of candied fruit a few years ago, but now I appreciate it a lot more. With orange blossom water and lemon and orange zest, it’s a real delight, especially with homemade puff pastry!
I’ve been meaning to put this recipe on my website for ages, and now it’s finally here! This brioche is also known as “gâteau des Rois”, “couronne des Rois”, “galette provençale”, “gâteau de Limoux” etc. There will of course be regional and even national variations, as it is also found in Spain and Portugal. But the general idea is the same. A good brioche well flavored with orange blossom (and sometimes a little rum) and enriched with candied fruit. Ideal for anyone who wants a change from the flaky pastry galette des Rois!
Since I’ve been teaching Japanese cooking classes, where you learn how to make mochi, it’s become something I do very regularly at home. And as I like to vary the pleasures, I allowed myself a little creation. Instead of adding water to the mochi dough, I subtracted sugar and added apple juice. For the filling, I made a shiroan, that white bean paste, but with the addition of cooked pear flesh. With a few pieces of walnut, we end up with a mochi where the flavours are delicate but very present. It’s like eating a cloud that melts in your mouth, with amazing fruity flavors.
Large, wonderfully crunchy peanut shortbread, richly topped with peanut butter. They’re not cookies, because they don’t contain chocolate or eggs, and the texture is quite different. Here, it’s crackling and crunchy! Chances are you’ll be sharing a shortbread, though! But I don’t think I can take the intense peanut taste any further, so this is a recipe for die-hard fans of this dried fruit!
People often ask me if I like burgers. No, I don’t like them, I love them! But then a real good burger, with the homemade bun. Or in a restaurant where everything is made on the spot. I had put a more classic burger recipe in my book ‘Le Grain de Sel’ and another vegan one in ‘Végéterrien’. I had a foie gras burger in Périgueux and wanted to make some for friends before the end of winter. The result is a bit demonic and remains in the realm of the exceptional. I’m not going to do it all the time, because it’s decadent but totally delicious. The burger is enough in itself, no fries on the side, a good salad if necessary, but above all a good glass of red wine. The combination of caramelized onions, porcini cream, pan-fried foie gras and steak cooked just the way I like it is totally irresistible.
Snails are a time-honored holiday tradition. But as much as I loved it when I was younger, today I find it much harder, strangely enough! I have to admit that it’s obviously the butter that makes you love it, but the snail itself, I’m not too fond of it anymore. These waffle shells have been on the market for some time now, so they’re edible and deliciously crisp. Add mushrooms and a good homemade escargot butter, and you’ve got a dish that’s not only rich, but also rich in flavour! A marvel to be savored!
